Free Republic

Public school teachers may soon be allowed to wear jewelry or clothing bearing a religious emblem or symbol while on the job. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday voted 201-1 to approve a Senate-passed bill that repeals a section of the state’s school code that penalized a teacher for such religious displays and held the school board liable if they failed to enforce that mandate from 1949. The bill now goes to Gov. Josh Shapiro for enactment. The governor is expected to sign it once it reaches his desk, said his spokesman Manuel Bonder. Once enacted, the law take...

Held: The application of the no-aid provision discriminated against reli-gious schools and the families whose children attend or hope to attendthem in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the Federal Constitution. Pp. 6–22.

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that barring religious institutions from a general state program violates the U.S. Constitution. The ruling was 5-4, with the conservative majority finding Montana violated the First Amendment when it excluded religious schools from a state scholarship program.

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Should parents legally be able to send their children to therapy to "pray the gay away"? Right now, some Oklahoma lawmakers are looking to ban the controversial practice of conversion therapy for minors. As Deputy Director of Oklahomans for Equality, Jose Vega is dedicated to fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ community, and one reason why -- there's a time in his life he fights not to think about every day.

On March 13, House and Senate Democrats introduced H.R. 5, the Equality Act, a proposal to expand protections in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to people based on their sex, sexual preference or gender identity. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who is openly gay, said conservatives would "use fear” to stop the legislation and asserted, “we cannot allow claims of religious freedom to be used to discriminate against an LGBT individual.” At a Capitol Hill press conference alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Cicilline said, “We know that in...

A few days ago, trying to maneuver through a “scrum” of reporters in Philadelphia, I was asked about my views regarding religious freedom and non-discrimination laws. Given the divisiveness and pain that have accompanied several state religious freedom laws, I approach attempts at legislating religious exceptions to anti-discrimination laws with great sensitivity and care.

The Virginia House of Delegates passed a measure Tuesday that would prohibit the state from taking action against businesses that refuse services to same-sex couples or people who engage in extra-marital sex. The House passed the controversial bill in a 56-41 vote, with supporters saying the legislation would protect religious rights of business owners from state-led lawsuits or the loss of state grants and contracts for simply refusing service to gay couples. ...

The First Amendment right to freedom of religion seems to be utterly meaningless to liberals in government today as they continue to make rulings that are the equivalent of ripping the Constitution to pieces and wiping their backsides with it. Courts in Massachusetts are now telling Catholic schools they have no choice but to hire homosexuals, despite the fact doing so goes against their beliefs. This is exactly why separation of church and state exists. Not to keep God out of government, but government out of the church. From Christian News: A state court in Massachusetts has ruled that a...

A measure allowing some court officials to refuse to perform gay marriage responsibilities because of their religious beliefs became law in North Carolina on Thursday, with the state House voting to override the governor's veto of the bill. The Senate had voted to do the same with Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's veto a week ago. Thursday's House vote of 69-41 was just over the three-fifths majority needed. Ten House members were absent and didn't vote. The law, taking effect immediately, means some register of deeds workers who assemble licenses and magistrates to solemnize civil marriages can decide to stop performing...

A judge in Washington state on Friday fined a florist $1,000 after she refused to sell flower arrangements for a gay couple's wedding, officials said. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who along with the couple - Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed - sued florist Barronelle Stutzman in 2013, applauded the ruling in a statement.

Today's lead editorial in The New York Times came out in strong support of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed for firing the city's Fire Chief, Kelvin Cochran. Cochran, as you may know was fired recently for having “antigay views.” Christian author and professor, Denny Burk, took issue with the NYT editorial on his blog, arguing that if the Atlanta Fire Chief’s termination isn’t a religious liberty case, then nothing is. Extensive details about this curious case of termination are easy to find elsewhere. For instance, see this Christianheadlines.com article, click the related links throughout this post, and view Chief Cochran’s own...

"I support the right of people to believe what they do and say what they wish—in their pews, homes and hearts." So says an influential New York Times journalist. In other words, "Keep your religion in the closet." In his Jan. 10 Times editorial, "Your God and My Dignity: Religious Liberty, Bigotry, and Gays," Frank Bruni writes, "I've been called many unpleasant things in my life, and I've deserved no small number of them. But I chafe at this latest label: A threat to your religious liberty." He finds it "absurd" that the simple act of two men or two...

In the year 257 AD, the Roman emperor Valerian stepped up the persecution of Christians, especially in the city of Rome itself. The principal targets of his campaign were the clergy and laity who came from the upper classes of Roman society. One of those caught up in Valerian’s persecution was a deacon named Lawrence. Lawrence was in charge of the Church’s property used to support Rome’s poor. Lawrence was offered a deal: in exchange for turning over the property, he would be spared arrest and execution. He agreed, adding that he needed three day to collect the church’s riches....

At a press conference Thursday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said people with religious beliefs who disagree with the ObamaCare contraception mandate can choose their faith or “you don’t have to form a corporation.” “You’re born with a religion or you adopt a religion. You have to obey the precepts of that religion and the government gives you a wide penumbra—you don’t have to form a corporation,” Schumer said. Schumer claims the Supreme Court’s decision that closely-held firms have a right to deny coverage for certain types of birth control they find objectionable under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was...

A bank teller in Kentucky claims she was fired from her job for telling customers, "Have a blessed day." Polly Neace wished customers at U.S. Bank in Walton, Kentucky, well with those words of blessing for more than two years. She said she never had anyone complain about the saying, which she said she was inspired to adopt when someone said the phrase to her in 2009. "I mean, in my opinion, I don't think there's any better way to have a blessed day," she explained in an interview with Fox News. But Neace said she was told she could...

The owner of a bakery in Lakewood said he will no longer sell wedding cakes after the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled he did discriminate against a gay couple when he refused to sell them a cake. "We would close down the bakery before we would complicate our beliefs," Phillips said after the hearing, according to CBS Denver. Phillips also admitted he had refused service to other same-sex couples. The commission also ordered the baker to submit quarterly reports about the customers he refuses to serve and retrain employees to serve everyone.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that cities and towns across America can continue praying at public meetings. Monday's 5-4 decision centers on an action that dates back to the nation's founding in 1774, when the first Continental Congress opened with Christian prayers. Two-hundred and forty years later, however, America is much more religiously diverse. That is part of the reason an atheist and Jew challenged prayers at public meetings in the town of Greece, New York. They claimed the prayers were mostly Christian, made them uncomfortable, and amounted to coercion. But in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy warned...

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on the constitutionality of prayer at public meetings. But a new survey finds U.S. voters clearly favor prayer – as long as the public prayer is generic and not specifically Christian. Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind survey asked about attitudes on high profile cases before the court, includingGreece v. Galloway. That case addresses whether elected officials can open public meetings with religiously specific prayers, such as praying in Jesus’ name. A Jew and an atheist brought suit in Greece, N.Y., saying the Christian prayers excluded many citizens and violated the Constitution, which bans government...

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that advocates the separation of Church and State, has reportedly asked a North Carolina football coach to cease praying with his players. Hal Capps is the head coach at Mooresville High School in North Carolina, he is also an open and devout Christian. Capps has been recognized by students for his habit of praying with the football players before team events and encouraging students to attend church. While much of the community has rallied around Capps in support, the FRF has maintained its stance on the coaches activates. Their attorney, Patrick Elliot,...

The owners of a Christian bakery who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after they were found guilty of violating the couple’s civil rights. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said they found “substantial evidence” that Sweet Cakes by Melissa discriminated against the lesbian couple and violated the Oregon Equality Act of 2007, a law that protects the rights of the LGBT community. Last year, the bakery’s owners refused to make a wedding cake for Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman, of Portland, citing their Christian beliefs....